Drifting Without Destination
by Toki Mirage
Summary: Sam/Optimus. Post-Revenge of the Fallen. Mikaela and Sam's relationship falls through. Optimus is there to offer friendship, but soon it becomes something more. Warnings: Slash, Bot/Human romance.
1. Part 1

Sam/Optimus fic. Will eventually have sexual material. Such material will be posted on my LiveJournal, as is appropriate. For the link to this location, please visit my profile.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to whoever it belongs to, which is not me.

**Drifting Without Destination**

_Part 1:_

"Sam," a voice carried across the hanger, surprising the human enough that he almost fell off the hummer he was sitting on. Optimus Prime had somehow managed to sneak up on him. How a forty-foot robot could be so stealthy Sam could never guess. Or maybe he was just _that_ distracted.

"Hey Optimus," he greeted half-heartedly.

"You seem… occupied," the leader of the Autobots continued cautiously, still standing to one side.

Sam let out a mirthless chuckle. "Yeah. That's one way of saying it."

"Did something happen?" Optimus asked, concern lowering his smooth, inhuman voice to a pleasant rumble.

Sam couldn't help but smile. There was Optimus. Always looking out for those under his 'command'. He was a great leader. If only they could find a liaison with national security that was worthy of him. Galloway had been fired shortly after the whole Egypt fiasco, and all the latest paper-pushers assigned by the president hadn't been much better. "Yeah. Nothing to concern the Autobots, though," he said, kicking his feet gently through the air. If he moved them too far they would hit the fender of the hummer.

Optimus shifted on his feet, and Sam found himself listening with fascination at the sound of all the gears moving and metal groaning that came with the movement. He'd never really had the time to notice before. Running for his life, or worrying about his education, or girl problems. He'd never paid much attention to the little things, like the way Bumblebee's seats sometimes had a smudge or patch of dirt on them that couldn't have gotten there through normal means. Or the way the tones of their inhuman voices echoed depending on the room they were in.

"Perhaps it is not, but can I not inquire as a friend?"

Sam couldn't suppress his slight smile. "Thanks big guy, but you can't exactly help with girl trouble."

"It is Mikaela, then? From my understanding, your relationship has progressed well over the past few weeks."

Sam shook his head. "It was going great for a while, but… she stuck with me through it all you know? The first time, with the cube. And then Egypt and crazy five foot tongues." He snorted, remembering their argument in the midst of escaping from the demonbot bitch from hell. "And you know what broke us up? A car. Or rather, the _guy_ driving the car." He kicked the hummer with his heel. "It figures. A car gets me the girl, and a car loses me the girl."

Optimus was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, thoughtfully. "Surely there was more to it than a car?"

Sam let out a sigh. "Probably. Women are so hard to understand. I kept our web chat dates after missing that first one, visited her whenever I could, tried to get her to come live in one of the cheap apartments on campus, but it just wasn't enough I guess."

Optimus was silent again. Sam wondered how much thought the aliens put into their every interaction with humans. 'What was an appropriate reponse?' 'How much subtext in this sentence?' 'Would saying this outright inadvertently insult someone?' Human culture was so complicated, after all. Sometimes even _Sam_ didn't understand it.

"Would you like to go for a ride?"

But wasn't that just the most random thing Sam thought the Autobot could have come up with. "Excuse me?" he finally choked out, completely blind-sided.

"Is it not common in your culture to indulge in driving with no set destination in order to calm one's thoughts?"

Sam blinked. That was true. Heck, what did he have to lose? It would be nice to get off base for a bit. He'd been planning to spend this month of summer vacation with Mikaela, but she'd been too… Well, she hadn't thought to tell him _before _he made all his summer plans that she was planning to dump him. So now he was free to do whatever. He'd found himself gravitating towards NEST like a bee to honey.

"Sure. Why not?" he muttered to himself, hopping off the hummer and walking towards Optimus. He watched in fascination as the towering body of metal folded and transformed until a perfectly normal-looking semi sat in front of him, engine purring. A smile quirked his lips. It was still a marvel for him that he was friends with an _alien_. And not just any alien. _The_ Optimus Prime. A guy Sam, if he were an Autobot, would gladly follow into battle. Not that Sam was much of a soldier - he was better at the running part.

With a slightly less heavy heart, he slipped into the cab of the semi and relaxed into the warm, comfortable seat. The truck pulled out and away, heading into the night with no apparent destination, never going a single mile above the speed limit. This amused Sam, as it was an unspoken rule of the road to speed by ten miles, but he didn't bother to initiate Optimus at this point in time. It wasn't like they were in a hurry to get anywhere.

Soon, he found his eyes beginning to slip shut in the comfortable heat of the cab and the silence of running motor, softly whistling wind, and the sound of tires moving across asphalt. He loved the way the seat at his bat seemed to conform to his body just like Bee's did. If Autobots hired themselves out as the most comfortable ride, they'd make quite a bit of money. 'No need to drive yourself. Sleep the whole distance in the most comfortable self-adjusting vehicle you've ever sat in!' Ha! That'd be a laugh.

He didn't wake up until some time later, and was surprised to find that the vehicle had stopped while he was unconscious. Shifting in the seat, he squinted at the clock on the dashboard and saw that it was nearly midnight. He should probably head back and go to bed soon…

He shifted back into the seat with a content sigh. Here with Optimus – even though the Autobot hadn't spoken a word – was more comfortable than… well, most things in his life now. He had to find a job for the summer, he had to go visit his parents in a week or so, as they were returning from a vacation in Las Vegas, he had to… well, actually no, he didn't have to do that. Mikaela was out of the picture now. Letting out a soft sigh, he was understandably surprised when the rumbling voice of Optimus came through the speakers.

"Are you feeling any better, Sam?"

The human smiled and shifted back into the seat again. "Yeah, thanks. A drive was just what I needed."

"I am glad. I…" Here the Autobot leader paused, and Sam blinked in surprise. It wasn't often that Optimus didn't know exactly what he wanted to say. "I wanted to thank you as well, Sam."

The human blinked, still a little slow from sleep. "Thank me? For what?"

"For returning for me. I know you didn't want to get involved in the war again, but I'm… glad that you did. But not that you were put in danger again."

Sam smiled. "I'm glad that I brought you back too, Optimus. To be honest… it wouldn't have been the same without you. I'm sure the others would have left. Galloway was such an asshole, and I only barely met the guy before he got 'let go'." Sam chuckled vindictively at that. He'd heard stories about 'that asshole national security guy' from Will and some of the other soldiers Sam got to know in the cafeteria. Some of them he'd met before, in the middle of battle, and others were new, but they were all friendly enough and shared a common hate of all things Galloway.

Optimus chuckled. "Yes. I'm afraid even my patience was tried by that man."

"I'm not surprised. He could infuriate a neutered cockroach."

The Autobot was silent.

"Uh, just an expression I made up on the spot. I'm tired, okay? Brain capacity's not really up to snuff."

Optimus chuckled again. "I see."

Sam resisted the urge to stick out his tongue and settled back again into the seats. "You mind if I go to sleep, big guy?"

"No, Sam."

Letting out a contented murmur, he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed into the bed in the back of the cabin. It was small and slightly cramped, but with the awesome robotic seat-conforming feature, he fell asleep in no time. It also didn't hurt that he had one of the most powerful, responsible, and protective aliens on the planet watching over him.

He fell asleep and was joined by dreams of forest, burning trees, and Optimus's body collapsing to the ground, eyes losing their light as his protector told him to run.


	2. Part 2

**Drifting Without Destination**

_Part 2:_

When Sam woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of a diesel engine purring and the gentle sway of a moving vehicle. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the time. Eugh. Six am?

"I am sorry for waking you, Sam, but we are scheduled to leave for Diego Garcia at ten hundred hours and I can't be late. If you are able, you should recharge for a few more hours. From my understanding, it is necessary that humans get at least eight hours sleep at your age."

Sam frowned. "Wait, you guys are leaving the base? Why didn't I hear about this?"

Optimus was quiet for a moment. "You are seen as a civilian by the US military. This means you are not informed of most of the military decisions made pertaining to the Autobots or NEST operations."

Sam snorted, wide awake now. "Now that's just the crap that they _tell_ you to feed me. What's really going on, Optimus?"

The truck was silent for so long Sam thought Optimus wasn't going to tell him, but eventually the deep baritone came through the speakers as the Autobot cracked. "We were recently dispatched here in the United States to look into a potential Decepticon threat. The Decepticon was located, but it managed to escape. As a precaution, we stayed for two weeks, but NEST has been unable to locate it. I argued that it is unwise to let a Decepticon roam free, but he is adamant that our presence here may be detected by other humans."

Sam frowned. "What? But after the fall out of… events with the Matrix, everyone knows that there are aliens out there, even if the government tried to cover it up as a hacker with good CG skills. Not everyone's falling for it. When are they going to come out and admit it?"

Optimus let out a sigh, surprising the human. "It appears that while the evidence can be covered up by the government, the majority of your species will remain ignorant to the truth."

Sam bit his lip. "And what's your take on that?"

"I believe it is not my decision to make. So far it has been humans deciding that other humans do not need to know, and I will respect their wishes so long as that remains the case."

The human snorted. "Right. So the government gets to control where you go, how long you stay there, and when they're going to kick you off the planet? That's not fair."

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. If they request that we leave, we must honour it."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest. "So what, as soon as the Decepticons are taken care of they're just going to kick you off the planet?"

Optimus was silent for a moment. "I would hope it does not come to that."

"Don't you have any say? What if you didn't want to go back to Diego Garcia?" Sam tried to ignore the knot of selfishness in his stomach, but it wouldn't go away.

Again, the Autobot seemed to be contemplating his response. Or was it processing? How similar were the thoughts of Cybertronians to humans? "As a 40 foot robot with superior fighting capabilities, there are threats that can be made. However, for the sake of diplomacy, battles must be chosen wisely. It is not so important that we stay in the United States that I would make such threats."

Well, at least the Autobots could pull out the big guns if the higher ups were being assholes again. But damn. Now Sam had to find something _else_ to do for the rest of his summer. There was no way he could just hitch a ride on a plane to an island in the middle of the Indian sea. Letting out a depressed sigh, he lay back down on the bed in the back of the cab to brood.

"You are… upset with this information?"

Sam sighed again. "Well… yeah."

"May I ask why?"

The human rolled over and closed his eyes. It wasn't like he had a face to stare at while he conversed with Optimus in alt mode, so why _not_ close them? "I guess I just… Well, aside from hearing about asshole government officials – again – I'm bored. My spring correspondence courses don't start for another week, Mikaela's ditched me, I need to look for a job when I get home…" He thought about it for a moment. Was that all that was bothering him…? No, there was something else, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You're taking correspondence courses during the summer?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. It's…" Should he share it with the Autobot? Ratchet had let him go free with a clean bill of mental health after the whole incident in Egypt. During the debriefing of all those involved in the international incident, everyone had been concerned about the knowledge that had transferred over to Sam from the shard of the All Spark, but when Sam had shown no signs of deteriorating mental stability – Hah! No more alien symbols! – Ratchet had let him escape his sensor arrays.

He hadn't told anybody that school had gotten phenomenally easier. Or that he could read ten times faster than before, and that more often than not he remembered the book the _first_ time he read it. Word for word. He hadn't wanted to believe – he _still_ didn't want to believe – that he had become some sort of super freak human with freaky brain powers and freaky-

Taking in a calming breath, he scrubbed his face with a hand. He knew he could graduate university in a year if he put his mind to it, but he also knew that would be _a bad idea_. Showing off that kind of mental capability either got you a good job or locked up in a government facility. After finding out about the robot frozen in the basement of the United States government, being experimented on – even if he _was_ a dick of a Decepticon – he didn't feel too comfortable with… well, everything.

"Sam? I'm detecting an unusual amount of stress. Is everything alright?"

Optimus's voice broke the hamster wheel of thoughts he was running on, bringing him back to the real world with a face-plant in the dirt of reality. "Uh…" Tell him, don't tell him, tell him, don't-

"Is there something on your mind?"

Sam bit his lip and decided to bite the bullet. "If I told you something, would you keep it a secret? Like, even from the government? Especially the government, really…" he muttered to himself, running a hand nervously through his hair.

"Will keeping this secrets potentially cost lives?"

Sam blinked. "Er, no. Well, I don't think so. I don't think you could- no."

Optimus hummed thoughtfully. "Then yes, Sam. I will keep your secret from your government."

The human nodded absently, organizing his thoughts. "Okay, you know how my brain went kind of freaky after the knowledge of the All Spark got transferred into my brain?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Optimus asked, "Are you having… difficulties? As you did before?"

Sam took in a fortifying breath. "Not… exactly. I'm not seeing weird symbols all over the place anymore, but there's other stuff, like I can read a 400 page text book in a couple of hours and remember everything in it, or most of the calculations in math class I'm now doing in my head, and in all my computer courses I have to hold myself back or I make too few mistakes. It's… well, I don't want to become some government experiment. 'Hey Sector Insert-Number-Here, why don't we try frying the brains of other human beings with a chunk of that cube that came from outer space? I hear it makes you real smart. Our first test subject was an accident, but unfortunately he didn't survive our tests.' Yeah, no _thank you_."

"I would never allow your government to take you prisoner and experiment on you, Sam."

The human blinked. "Huh?" he said intelligently.

"I owe you a great debt for saving my life. Twice. If Bumblebee had not asked to stay with you as your guardian, I would have ordered him to. It's our fault that the Decepticons know of you and may target you, so I will do my utmost to keep you safe. Even if it means protecting you from your own people."

Sam smiled and let out a relieved breath. It felt good to hear Optimus say that. Good to know that the hell he'd gone through – _twice_ – wasn't so easily forgotten. "Thanks, Optimus," he said softly, running his hand along the edge of the cushion that made up his 'bed'. He knew from Bumblebee that Cybertronians, while not as sensitive as when in their bi-pedal forms, were still quite attuned to temperature changes and touch due to their sensors. Maybe it was just a human thing, but some feelings couldn't be conveyed through words alone.

He wondered if Optimus would get that.


	3. Part 3

**Drifting Without Destination**

_Part 3_

Sam tripped over the edge of the carpet into his living room and almost face-planted into his couch with a spray of spaghetti sauce. Instead, the world around him slowed down for a moment, and he managed to catch himself at the same time his eyes were tracking the precarious, floating spaghetti plate. A slight shift and tilt of his hand caught it with no difficulties, and suddenly the world sped up again for Sam to see that he was still standing, and not a drop of spaghetti sauce had been spilt.

Pushing the strange incident from his mind took little effort on his part. He'd been having difficulties with normality lately, so he'd started ignoring anything weird all together. Besides the regular, mild headaches that increased if he was trying to stuff a particularly large dump of information in his head, he hadn't noticed anything physically wrong with him and had therefore decided not to go about worrying anyone about it.

He had an online test to do later that afternoon, but was taking a break at the moment to feed himself. It was important to keep his blood sugar as constant as he could throughout the day – as he'd read on the internet during his health-freak-out and subsequent memory dump of anything that could help him understand his body and brain a bit more – so he had taken to eating regularly. He always had some sort of snack prepared in the fridge to nook if started feeling the slightest bit hungry.

It had ended up helping a lot, actually. Eating balanced meals, that is. After a few days he'd noticed he wasn't quite as tired, and rationalized that it was because his body was functioning more smoothly because he was taking care to give it the proper nutrients.

He didn't want to think about all the other weird things that could be the reason behind his rather staggering recovery. Didn't want to think about his food bill had increased by nearly a hundred dollars every month since his return from Egypt.

He turned on the TV to try to stop his brain from thinking for a while.

"_-ell me, Mary, how is it that a hacker managed to get the military to-"_

Click.

"_-ake sure to add just enough seasoning to-"_

Click_._

"_-since Mission city, there have been blogs and sites of all kinds, trying to increase the hype about these so-called 'alien ro-"_

He gave up and turned it off. He didn't even know why he had a TV. Listening to the information from a newsman who didn't even _know_ half of what he was talking about was slow, boring, and generally filled with more bias than he had pennies in his coin jar. He'd taken to browsing the internet if he ever wanted to know something. Reading articles and blogs at ten times the speed normal people could read was generally the way to go.

Of course, he made sure never to do it in public. If someone saw him speed reading a site or blog at that speed, it couldn't be dismissed for browsing that easily.

Pulling his laptop onto his thighs, he put the plate of spaghetti next to him and started surfing _The Real Effing Deal Dot Com_. Without his roommate there every second of the day to force into his ear all the happenings on his site, Sam found himself wondering at 'recent events' more often than he would have liked. It wasn't as if Leo actually had undeniable proof that he was right. Videos could be 'constructed' after all.

But it didn't change the fact that a lot of people believed, even if it was only through a blog on the internet.

Browsing some of the chat comments and video postings, he tried to find something that might clue him in to what Optimus and the rest of the Autobots were doing at that moment. He hadn't heard from them since his last visit to NEST operations in America nearly a month ago, as Bumblebee had been ordered by Optimus not to tell Sam anything. It had caused some tension between them for a while, until Sam's logical brain finally kicked in and he recognized that anything he knew just made him a more likely target for the enemy.

And then a posting by _Made-To-Be-Iron_ made him do a double take. Frowning, he read the posting, but found nothing unusual about it besides a slight rebuttal from some other guy who had been raving on and on about aliens wanting to dissect their brains and eat them. When he read the 'RE:' and the response, he couldn't help but snort with laughter.

_MTBI in response to alns8u's post:_

_What makes you think aliens want to eat your puny, underdeveloped gray matter? By this post alone it's pretty obvious you don't have any._

_Made-To-Be-Iron_

Sam snorted and started browsing the site for more posts that sounded like certain friends he knew overseas. He ended up finding at least a handful of posts that could or couldn't be Autobots, but knew it was too much of a coincidence, and that at least some of them had to have been posted by their resident aliens.

A ring of his phone startled him out of his thoughts, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see who was texting him.

_BzR4Me texted:_

_Sam, didn't you have a test to do online? It starts in five minutes._

Sam cussed under his breath and typed off a quick text to his alien friend currently parked outside his apartment. It had been decided a while ago that it was probably better for the safety of Sam's parents if he didn't spend his summers with them anymore. Ron hadn't argued about 'less property damage', though Sam had seen in his face and the way that he gave Sam a rough hug that he didn't completely want Sam away from home during the summer.

His mother had been much more vocal about it.

In the end, though, Sam had made the decision and did his best to disappear off the map during his summers. His education and bills were paid off, though he hadn't really gotten a straight answer as to why. He assumed that the government had decided to pay him back for saving the world – twice – but it could have had something to do with the Autobots.

Not worrying about money had allowed him to focus on his education, though, which he was grateful for. He kind of wished he knew who to thank, but at the same time knew that that conversation would be veeery awkward.

Stuffing a few more bites of spaghetti in his mouth, he opened his computer up to the site where they were supposed to take the multiple choice test from hell. It was one of those tests that didn't matter if you did it at home, because you didn't have enough time from question to question to check anything in a textbook or notes. The teacher was evil. You had one minute per multiple choice question, and if you didn't click the right answer and 'save' it in time, the program automatically booted you to the next question and you got a zero on the last one.

Luckily for Sam, he had a brain that processed a bit faster than the average person. The test wasn't too hard, though it was two hours long, and he ended up losing a large amount on purpose, total, by going to the bathroom and getting himself some orange juice throughout the test. He always calculated his tests before he started, deciding which amount of questions wrong would be not suspicious for a guy like him who usually had Bs with the occasional A or C. Some people might find this very strange if they knew, but Sam was content with graduating with slightly above-average marks, as long as he didn't get dragged into an experimental facility.

Logic told him that there was no doubt he was being kept an eye on.

When he finished the test, he submitted his answers online and decided to go for a ride in Bumblebee. The Cybertronian was eager for the opportunity, as Sam didn't have as much time to hang out with him considering he was taking around eight courses that summer.

Leaning back in his seat as Bumblebee drove them around the back roads of the small town he'd plunked himself in, he slurped from his MacDonald's milkshake and wondered what his other alien friends were up to.


	4. Part 4

**Drifting Without Destination**

_Part 4:_

It was two months since Optimus and the others, besides Bumblebee, had been forced to leave for Diego Garcia. Sam had written eight exams in the past week, but aside from having to eat a lot, he wasn't that mentally fatigued. Bee had been worried about him, at first, taking so many courses, but when Sam hadn't buckled under the pressure the Autobot had stopped asking if he was okay every time Sam stepped into the car.

Currently they were celebrating Sam's successful exam week by heading to the beach. He'd had to pack clothes and food for a three-day trip, but thankfully it was only a four hour drive to the nearest sandy lake. Bee had been quite excited to finally leave the little town Sam had sequestered himself in.

Letting out a happy sigh as the wind blew through his hair, Sam leaned back in the driver's seat and left one lazy hand on the steering wheel by habit. He'd become quite the spacey driver since Bumblebee had taken the wheel, but he didn't mind. No one could drive safer than an alien robot with more sensors than Sam could see colours, so what was the problem?

Perking up when he finally caught sight of the large and crowded parking lot, he put both hands on the wheel and started paying more attention to where they were going. They drove straight past the crowd, as Bumblebee had found a relatively nice patch of beach hidden from the naked eye by using satellites.

After all, what was the point of both of them going to the beach if Sam had to park Bee nearly a mile from the water?

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air as they started cruising on one of the back roads, he took this moment of peace to enjoy the way the sun's rays on his skin were interrupted intermittently by the shadows of branches and leaves hanging above. Enjoyed the way Bumblebee's seat conformed to his back and adjusted in temperature depending on his comfort.

Finally, they arrived at the beach. It was mostly rock, but there were enough sandy patches that Sam could lay down his blanket and sunbathe easily enough.

What was most convenient about this spot was that Bumblebee could actually drive across the rocks to join him. Being an alien made out of material that Sam wasn't smart enough – _yet_ – to wrap his brain around, the rocks could hardly puncture wheels or scrape paint.

And Sam knew this because someone had tried to key Bumblebee when he was in university after the Egypt thing. _And_ slash his tires. Maybe the bastard had wanted to see if the guy who every government agency on the planet had been looking for owned his own robot. Sam hadn't found out about it until some time after the fact, when he'd caught the guy again trying to scrape Bee's paint job.

When he'd asked his friend later, why he hadn't come to Sam about the attempted mutilation, the Autobot's answer to his spitting fury had been candid.

"_Sam, a small metal object made out of steel is hardly strong enough to damage me in any way."_

"_But-! That's not the point! I- your paint-"_

"_The coloured coating you see is not what humans call paint, Sam," _the Autobot had said with patience. _"We are a facsimile of cars. A replica transformed from alien metals and alloys. My paint, like my windows, are not made from human materials. I can change them to reflect the damage so that the human will leave, and then change them back. I am not damaged so easily,"_ that British accent had said, and for the first time since he'd seen Bumblebee in battle, Sam had realized exactly _how alien_ his friend truly was. It hadn't even crossed Bumblebee's processors that Sam might need to know, because a keying wasn't even something on the alien's list of things to be concerned about.

He hadn't realized exactly how useless he was until that moment, Sam remembered with a bitter taste in his mouth as he opened Bee's trunk to pull out the blankets and coolers. The Autobot had turned it into a fridge with his internal temperature controls. Hadn't realized that his 'car' didn't think Sam needed to 'bother' about protecting him from jealous bastards with keys. Closing it behind him, the cool air brushing across his skin and slipping under his shirt to tickle his belly, he made his way over to the spot that looked the most comfortable. Hadn't realized that no matter how many cheesy tunes Bee played to communicate when he didn't want to talk, no matter how well he blended in and slipped under Sam's radar, he was still an alien. Picking up a few of the larger rocks and tossing them in the direction of the water, he set up the blanket and sat down on it, reaching into the first cooler to pull out a bottle of beer. An alien that he cared about more than picking up another girlfriend to replace Mikaela, but an alien nonetheless. Twisting the lid off, he took a gulp of it before leaning back and basking in the sun's rays. They didn't think the way humans did, and if he wanted to understand them as much as he _wanted_ to, he was going to have to remember that.

Bumblebee's windows stayed down as some music started playing, and Sam closed his eyes to listen to the nuances of the song. Listened to see if Bee was trying to communicate something with it. It was difficult at times to know whether he had picked a song because of the moment, or whether it was just on the radio.

Dismissing the tune as one of the latter, he stopped listening to the lyrics and just let the quiet music, wind through the trees, and sound of the water gently crashing against the rocks roll over him. He hadn't had the chance to relax in so long, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to not have to think about school work.

Maybe he'd take the rest of the summer off, now that Spring courses were over. He was due a break. Besides, forcing himself to slow down to the pace of the university programme was starting to get boring. Things that they barely touched on in class, he ended up driving into city centers hunting for books about. Computer programming and mathematical equations and concepts they deemed too advanced for the level he was studying at, he surfed the internet for or ordered books off eBay.

It was getting to the point where he was really tempted to just blast through undergrad and get it over with so he could get to the good stuff. However, he knew how stupid that would be. Some kid with average grades takes the final exams for a handful of university courses out of the blue and passes with flying colours? He cheated or something is _up._

He didn't want some equivalent of Sector Seven on his ass.

Sighing, he pushed those negative thoughts out of his mind and forcibly cleared his head. He didn't want to be thinking about anything at that moment. Nothing except the warmth on his skin and the tang of beer on his tongue.

Of course, at that moment of relaxation freaky alien symbols decided to start racing across the backs of his eyelids. Letting out an annoyed breath, he stopped fighting it when the familiar headache started pounding at his temples.

It had happened to him before. Normally when he stopped thinking about school and all the stuff he was learning for long enough to relax. It was one of the many reasons he had taken to occupying his mind at every opportunity, whether it be with grad-level course textbooks or learning how to hack a computer and not get caught.

He still didn't understand all of the symbols. Some of them had organized themselves in his brain enough that he could associate meanings, but as for the rest? It wasn't like he could go up to Optimus or Ratchet and ask for a Cybertronian dictionary so the symbols in his head would stop bothering him.

He didn't want them to know. Though, not for the same reasons he didn't want the government to know.

It was when the alien symbols started scrolling across his _open_ eyes that he knew something was up for real. Frowning, he took a deep breath to quell the rising panic in his stomach, pushing himself to a sitting position and holding the cold glass of beer to his forehead. Please let this not be him finally going insane and cracking under the pressure.

His head was starting to _ache_.

"Sam? Are you alright?" Bee asked, rolling on his wheels and turning the music off.

Sam tried to focus on the wind through the trees instead of the ringing in his ears. "I… don't kn-"

Something collided with the rock, sand, and water of the beach, and before Sam even realized what was happening he was on his feet and running, memories of Egypt and Mission City flashing through his head and driving him to find cover behind Bumblebee, who was already transforming into his bipedal form, shouting his name and instructions that Sam couldn't hear above the sonic boom of a rocket that had only just now hit them, despite the source of it already being there.

His brain was already calculating exactly how fast that thing had to have been moving to outchase its own sound wave, and the memory of alien symbols on the wings of a fighter jet came to mind.

_Starscream_.

The world had slowed down again, like it did with the spaghetti except even slower this time. He could see Starscream reaching for him as he craned his head to look behind him even as Bumblebee turned a canon on him and blasted him away. Turning his head back to the front, he was unprepared for the rock on the ground determined to trip him.

He went flying ass over teakettle and landed on his back on a rather sharp, pointed rock. Groaning in pain, but thankful it had missed his spine, he rolled onto his feet and darted for the trees, hoping to avoid getting stepped on or blown up.

Hiding behind a trunk, he watched with wide eyes as Bumblebee fired shot after shot at the Decepticon, until Starscream got off a lucky shot that sent the yellow Autobot flying into a group of trees. Reaching into his pocket before he realized what he was doing, he pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial one. The number he had wished he'd never have to use, but knew it was likely he would. Eventually.

And now was that time.

Brain still slowing down the fight in front of him, it was a painful handful of seconds that passed while he waited for the phone to connect with the NEST base. There was no way they could get here in time, but it was the best course of action he could think of considering the circumstances.

_Riiing_.

He hoped Bee wasn't too badly damaged.

_Riiing._

He wished the stupid US government hadn't forced the Autobots back to Diego Garcia.

_Riiing_.

He wished a nuke would drop on Starscream's head and blow him to smithereens.

_Click_.

"_NEST headquarters, how can I forward your call?"_

Sam focused his brain back on the present. "This is Sam Witwicky, currently under Decepticon attack. Please send reinforcements."

The voice changed from crisp to utterly serious. _"What are your co-ordinates?"_

Sam's mind flashed back to the image Bee had emailed him of the beach. He rattled off the numbers quickly. The guy on the other line was hastily yelling out things to other people, and Sam licked his lips nervously as he heard watched another slug barely avoid Bumblebee. His every instinct was screaming at him to run, but he didn't want his friend to die.

"_Optimus's team is already on its way. ETA five minutes."_

Sam's eyes widened. Optimus was in range? How was he getting there? Transport plane? Driving? Five whole minutes? Sure it was better than twenty or an hour, but Starscream was-

Logic kicked in and sent him running for deeper forestry. Either Starscream was there for Sam, or he was trying to take out an Autobot on his lonesome. Perhaps both. But the fact of the matter was that Sam was a liability, and Bumblebee was just as likely to get his aft handed to him if the alien had to jump in front of a rocket meant for Sam.

Zigzagging through the trees, he tried to find somewhere to hide with no luck. An explosion sounded behind him, and fear clenched in his stomach as he heard Bumblebee's sound of pain and Starscream's laughter.

He found a pile of rocks and hid behind them, watching the explosions and fire rage in the distance. Finally, just as he thought he might lose his best friend forever, a loud explosion echoed through the trees along with a scream of fury, and then Starscream was taking off into the air.

Unable to believe it for a moment, it took Sam a second to realize that the person on the other line was talking to him.

"_-there? Kid? Are you there?"_

Sam swallowed. "Yeah. Starscream… he just took off. I dunno if he's gonna be back."

There was silence for a moment and discussion before the line cut and Optimus's voice was pouring out of the tiny speaker, soothing his nerves with each rumble. _"Sam? Are you okay?"_

He swallowed again, letting out a relieved sigh and resting his forehead against the rock in front of him. "Yeah. But I… Bumblebee…"

"_Bumblebee will be fine, Sam. I am in contact with him as we speak. Stay where you're hidden in case Starscream returns."_

Sam tried to calm is racing heart. "Okay." He took in a deep breath. "What did he want? Starscream, I mean, 'cuz it's not like I have the All Spark or some ancient knowledge to find the Matrix anymore, so why did he come here?" he rambled, slipping inside a small crevice between the large rocks in case Starscream decided to fly over again.

Optimus was silent for a moment. _"We don't know. However, you will be returning with us to Diego Garcia in light of recent events. It is for your own safety."_

Sam breathed and blinked some dust out of his eye. "Diego Garcia? But, isn't that, like, Military or something? No civilians allowed? I mean, it was hard enough to get into NEST in this _country_, let along _Diego Gar-_"

"_Sam. Calm down."_

Realizing he was hyperventilating, he bit his lip and forced his breathing to slow down.

"_I had already made arrangements in the event something like this happened. Do not worry yourself, Sam. You will be safe."_

The human blinked rapidly, trying to get the dirt out of his eye. "Uh huh. Um, that's great and all, but what about, you know, my education and-"

"_Bumblebee has informed me that you are bored with your curriculum at university. If you desire, we can arrange for you to take more advanced courses by correspondence."_

Sam gulped. "But I don't- how did you- if the government finds out I'm going to be-"

"_Sam. You do not need to worry yourself over such matters. The government will not be able to do anything to you. You are outside of their jurisdiction."_

Sam's brain stuttered to a halt. "What?"

There was a moment of silence on the phone. _"I had wanted to tell you under better circumstances."_

Sam stared at rock in front of him, completely ignoring the spider making its way across its surface. "What- what are you talking about?"

"_Sam. You…"_ The hesitance in the Cybertornian's voice had Sam more freaked out than the bomb that had just gone off on this innocent-looking beach. What the hell was going on? What had they kept from him? _"You are under the jurisdiction of the Autobots, now. It was… part of our treaty with the United States."_

Sam's brain started going a mile a minute, trying to figure out exactly how the alien had managed to swing that. "When did… how did… _what?_"

"_After Mission City… After you saved my life, the Autobots and the United States government drew up the treaty that allows us to remain here. We made it a condition of the treaty that you would no longer be under their jurisdiction, but that you would be able to continue to act as a citizen. This allowed us to protect you from… agencies such as Sector Seven. After the extensive research we have done on the human race, it was deemed too high a threat to allow them to keep your citizenship."_

Sam stared at the rock, brain understanding the words coming out of the phone, but mind unable to come to grips with them. "What do you mean by… threat?"

"_In the event that your exposure to the All Spark had a detrimental effect, we were unwilling to risk that your government… 'seize' you as an asset. We are… very lucky that Bumblebee was sent here much earlier to learn the ways of the human race. It was he who voiced this concern and predicted that it may be a problem in the future."_ Optimus paused. _"And it was. After the events in Egypt, they wanted to discern the effect the All Spark had on your mind. We refused, and made it so you would be allowed to continue your schooling as you desired."_

Sam's mind flashed back to when he had been on the boat, with Optimus and everyone else, and the leader of the Autobots had asked him what he wanted to do when he finally returned home. He… hadn't realized that his answer then had held so much weight.

"What about my parents? Do they… know about this?"

"_It was decided by the government that until it had an effect on your relationship or situation, they were to be left uninformed."_

Sam's jaw dropped. "No fucking way. They didn't tell my _parents_ that you- that the government- that you guys _own_ me now?! Don't _I_ get a say in this?!"

There was a long pause on the phone, and dimly Sam realized that he could hear a plane approaching.

"_We do not… It was not our intention to unsettle you, Sam, merely insure that you would be safe and comfortable."_

"Yeah. Right. And what if I said 'no'? What if I don't want to go to Diego Garcia and live the rest of my life trapped on some military rock in the middle of the damn Indian sea?!"

Optimus said nothing for a long moment, and Sam's ire began to rise. Why hadn't they told him he wasn't even an _American_ anymore? Was _this_ where the money was coming from? How could Optimus even afford it? Had they been hacking into bank accounts or betting on the stock market or something?

"_I have upset you."_

Sam glared at the rock. "Damn right you have!"

There was a brief moment of static, and Sam wasn't sure what to make of it. _"I do not understand. What is it that made you upset?"_

Sam's mind kept screaming at him 'Aliens! Aliens you moron! Did you forget that?!' Nice aliens, but- "You can't just- without even telling me- this is_ my life_ we're talking about here!"

"_Exactly. This is your life we are discussing. I have done these things to insure the continuation of it."_

"Without _asking me!_"

Optimus was silent for a long moment. _"Is it not customary on your planet for those with more power to protect those with less? I saw a threat to someone who had risked his life to save my own, and I acted accordingly."_

Sam let out a frustrated breath and scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. Damnit, but giant robots with brains the size of trash cans could be stupid. "But you didn't _ask_," he repeated, voice sounding tired to his own ears, and he let out a sigh as he scrubbed at the dirt and sand itching his scalp with his finger nails.

"_I apologize."_

Sam felt a little better, but it couldn't erase the irritation and powerlessness that had overcome him. Hadn't he wanted to see more of the Autobots, though? And he hadn't exactly stopped looking at every police cruiser that went by with a suspicious eye. And although there hadn't been another demonbot bitch from hell after him, who was to say they wouldn't try again if they figured out there really was something fucked up inside his head?

If they didn't already know.

"I'll come with you to Diego Garcia, but this conversation isn't over. I don't want anyone controlling my life but me, do you understand?"

There was another burst of static. _"Very well. We will be landing shortly on the water. Please return to Bumblebee so that he can ensure your safe transfer on board."_

"Fine." Without another word, Sam slapped the phone shut.


	5. Part 5

Drifting Without Destination

_Part 5:_

The ride to Diego Garcia was long and boring. He'd been shuffled into the human cargo area as soon as he stepped foot on the large, water-born metal shuttle, and saw neither tailpipe nor optic of any of the Autobots until they landed on the ground nearly five hours later. Sam had no idea how Optimus had gotten there so fast in the first place. Maybe he'd already been in the country due to Decepticon activity? It seemed the most likely reason.

"Excuse me, Mr. Witwicky, but I've been ordered to show you to your new rooms for your stay here on base."

Sam shot the suit a glare before following him without a word, watching the Autobots as they disembarked from the shuttle and drove in a completely different direction. He caught sight of Bumblebee, scratched up and a bit bent out of shape, and waved his hand at the Autobot before he was ushered inside. The yellow bot flashed his high beams, and instantly Sam felt a little better.

He kept his eyes wide open as he started memorizing the layout of the base, lining up approximate distances with what he'd seen from the air through his tiny window. Once they made their way underground, however, he realized exactly how expansive the base was. From the air, you'd think it was nothing more than a regular air base.

"Here you are, Mr. Witwicky. Please stay here until someone comes to retrieve you."

Glaring at the door, he opened it and went inside, ignoring the suit's existence out of spite. His foul mood didn't last long, however, when he caught site of the contents of his new room.

'Holy slag' didn't even begin to cover it. He had a single bed in the corner of the room, but that was quickly ignored in favour of the large entertainment system set up on the far side of the room, directly across from the bed that was to the left of the door. Not only did he have a gigantic TV screen, but he had five of the latest game consoles set up on shelves of the unit, and a hi-tech computer to his right.

He immediately went for the computer, wondering if there were any cool gadgets on it worth exploring while he killed time.

He spent the next hour on his new, awesome, super fast computer, and nearly had to be dragged away from it when a soldier in fatigues came by to pick him up for a debriefing. Irritated at being pulled away from his computer, he wondered if he was finally going to get some answers from Optimus. He'd been trying not to think about it on the flight, as the more he thought about it the more pissed off he got that Optimus had gone behind his back like that. Logic insisted that Optimus was in the right, but his heart was angry that the bot hadn't just told him in the first place.

The soldier showed him into a room full of a variety of people, from bureaucrats to generals to suits. He was shown to a seat at the side of the oval table opposite from the majority of people, making him feel like this was an interrogation.

"Mr. Witwicky, we'd like to hear your side of things concerning the recent attack of a Decepticon called Starscream."

Sam gave the politician that was leading the interrogation a stony look. "You've already heard what happened from the Autobots, I'm sure, so why is this necessary?"

"It is always best to hear all sides of a story in order to get the most complete and accurate picture of events," the politician said patronizingly, as if Sam couldn't have figured that out.

Sam was feeling less intimidated and more irritated. "Really. And what could be more accurate than the story of an Autobot? Human memories become dull, inaccurate, and skewed over time as the brain goes over retained information. It's at its most inaccurate during times of shock."

The politician kept his face mostly smooth, but Sam could easily see the way his pupils dilated with emotion. Probably anger. "Regardless of your opinions on the matter," which Sam thought was utter shit, as what he'd said was basically scientifically proven fact, "this is standard procedure when soldiers and civilians are involved in any combat situations."

Sam stared down the politician for a good while as he gathered his thoughts. The memories of the attack were crystal clear in his mind, contrary to what he'd said earlier about the way human brains worked. It made him wonder if he was beginning to tread the line between human and something else.

Annoyed, he took in a deep breath and did as instructed. "Bumblebee and I left my apartment at approximately lunch time and spent the next few hours driving to the beach, where we were planning to spend the afternoon sunbathing. Instead, after we were there for only half an hour, Starscream crashed onto the beach and I started running like hell for cover. I got tossed by a concussion wave of an explosion once, but was uninjured besides a couple bruises. I found a rock in the forest and hid behind it as I made the call to NEST headquarters to ask for assistance. The Autobots were already on their way, though. Somehow Bumblebee managed to fight Starscream off, because the Decepticon made a run for it, and then the shuttle showed up."

Some people across the table from him traded looks while others kept scribbling things down on their pads of paper or typing on computers. "Did you notice any suspicious activity in the area? Anything that could have informed Starscream of your location?"

Sam shrugged. "I didn't notice anything." Well, there had been that headache before Starscream showed up, but he didn't really know what that was about, and he wasn't about to tell the US government about it either. "Now, when do I get to talk to the big red and blue?" he asked, tapping his fingers against the table in agitation.

"When the proper procedures have been followed."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "And what are the proper procedures?" The suits said nothing. "So, do you work for the US government or the Autobots?" More silence, besides the tap and scribble of typing and writing. If Sam had a lap top on him, he was _so_ be hacking into their computers at that moment to figure out what the hell was so fascinating on their screens.

Words started scrolling across his vision, except no matter how he focused his eyes they never blurred and they were in _English_. Frowning, he started following the glitchy line of text, wishing it were more like a computer screen instead of this messed up-

It snapped into focus, and he could see the little Windows 'start up' menu in the bottom left hand corner. He stared. The words scrolling across the screen lined up with the clacking of typing fingers exactly. Each time he blinked, the screen remained superimposed on his eyelids.

Not wanting to look suspicious with his eyes twitching out reading something that didn't exist, he closed his eyes and propped his chin up on his hand in 'boredom'. Reading the text rapidly, he saw what appeared to be a psych profile on _him_. He barely resisted the urge to snort at some of the crap written there. Sure, some of it was true, but that didn't mean it was completely accurate. The psychologist apparently thought he had an issue with authority (correct), was in shock from recent events (not particularly), had a nervous tick where he'd scratch one of his fingers with the other on the same hand (wait, what?), and was over all completely unprepared for his future role as… an ambassador? What? This was an interview to see if he could become a human-Autobot liaison?

Why the hell hadn't they told him? Currently he wasn't doing a good job of convincing them he could handle it (if he even wanted to), if the psych profile of him being twitchy, hard-headed, and unlikely to deal well in a diplomatic scenario was any indication.

He sighed. "Do you think I could get a glass of water?" he asked, dredging up every ounce of politeness his mother had beat into him as a child. Okay, not beat, but have you ever had your back strapped to your chair while your mother dangled ice cream in front of your face _while_ the air conditioner was broken to train you in table manners? That woman could be a tyrant when she wanted to be!

Neither of the suits reacted, and the one with the computer kept typing away things not in favour of Sam. Getting annoyed, but doing his best not to show it, he leaned back in his chair and _stared_.

The one with the note pad glanced up after a full minute of it, only to turn back to his paper quickly. Sam had to keep the smirk off his face and upped the intensity. Paper glanced up again five seconds later, before hastily returning to his notes when it was obvious Sam was watching him.

The amusing staring contest continued for a half an hour before Paper broke and went to get himself something to drink. When he came back, coffee in hand, Sam stood up with polite smile.

"Thanks so much for getting the drink for me. For a second there I thought you'd forgot I asked," he said smoothly with a smile, slipping the cup out of numb fingers as he fixed that intense but friendly look on his face. Coffee secured, he made his way back to his seat and sat down as if he were comfortable and willing to be there.

Sam: 1, Suits: 0

It was _on._

"Mr. Witwicky. I have a few more questions for you," the guy in the center said, flipping some pages in the report in front of him. Paper kept scribbling away, too flustered to go get himself another cup of coffee, and Computer kept typing things and remained oblivious to the fact that Sam had somehow pirated his computer screen.

No need for them to know that, of course.

And Sam ignored the little voice in the back of his head that said this was beyond just the weird ability to remember shit after only reading it once and learning how to hack computers during his free time with Glen on the weekends when he had the time to drive eight hours to where the friendly geek lived.

"During your stay in Diego Garcia, do you have any plans to interact with the Autobots on a regular basis?"

Sam tried to think of all the reasons why Suit would be asking that question. "I think that would depend on whether or not they had the free time to do so. Fighting off Decepticons doesn't allow for much vacation time, I hear."

_Uses humor to deflect questions and avoid details_

_Recognizes that aliens are soldiers and not here for personal amusement_

Sam felt like smacking Computer. Well DUH the aliens weren't here for his personal entertainment. They had a war to fight for chrissakes. Any idiot knew that.

"I was referring in particular to the one designated Bumblebee."

Sam kept his expression placid. "What about him?"

"He is an asset to this operation that you have been keeping as a lift to the beach."

Sam couldn't keep his eye from twitching in annoyance at the insult.

_Unable to hide signs of annoyance from educated eyes_

"First off, Bee asked to stay with me for my protection."

"But you don't deny that you have been using him as a convenient ride to the beach."

"He's been camouflaging himself as my car. Wouldn't it be rather odd if I took a taxi around instead when I have a perfectly good car? Not to mention the fact that that would separate me from Bee, which would render him incapable of defending me if the need arose, as it did _at the beach_."

_Reacted well to implied insult; inconsistent with past records; responded politely and with logical reasoning_

Sam: 2, Suits: 0

Suit said nothing for a moment, looking over his forms again as if trying to pick the most annoying question he could think of.

"If there was a break in on base, and you were near the disturbance, what would you do?"

Okay, that was odd and totally off track of what they'd been talking about so far. It threw Sam for a loop. "Well, that would depend on the scenario. If it was a Decepticon attack, I'd go find Bumblebee or one of the other Autobots."

_Lack of survival instinct; would choose to approach disturbance instead of calling for help_

How the- that asshole! He wasn't even listening to what Sam was saying! He said he'd go get one of the Autobots!

Sam: 2, Suits: 1

"What if the disturbance was merely two soldiers fighting one another?"

"Well, I'd try to find out what the problem was and resolve it before someone got shot."

_Reckless and tries to deal with situations himself instead of seeking help_

Okay, this was starting to piss Sam off.

Sam: 2, Suits: 2

"If you had the choice of staying in your room, playing video games or the chance to help an analyst with something, what would you do?"

"Well, I'd see if I could help."

_Education may be above estimated parameters if he thinks himself capable of helping an analyst working here_

This was just going farther and farther south.

"When do I get to see Optimus?" he asked, cutting off Suit halfway through his next question.

Suit looked annoyed. "After we have finished here."

But Sam refused to answer another question, staring instead at the security camera in the corner. He didn't even know if Optimus had allowed this. He'd just been ordered here with no explanation except to give a 'debriefing', and now it was looking to be much more than _just_ a debriefing. Technically, he was under Optimus's jurisdiction now, so if these A-holes worked for the US, which they probably did, this meant they didn't have the right to keep him there unless Optimus had allowed it. But he had no way of verifying if Optimus had allowed it or not because they wouldn't let him _speak_ to the man. Er, Autobot. Whatever.

Well, if his brain could hack a computer, could he perhaps send out a message to Optimus?

Not like it would hurt.

Closing his eyes, he focused every ounce of his mind on getting a message out to Optimus, or Bumblebee.

Fifteen minutes later, nothing had happened. Still ignoring the suits across from him, he drank the rest of his cold coffee and got up to put it in the trash can. Just for the hell of it, he tried the door while he was at it.

It was _open_.

Grinning, Sam opened it and slammed it closed behind him, quickly, locking it from the outside. There. Take _that_, assholes. Wandering out of the hall, he headed back to his room. He was going to email Bee if it was the last thing he did.

Once he got to his room, he locked the door and stuck the chair under the door knob in case someone came beating down on it in the next few minutes. Going to his computer, he clicked on the internet and sent to send an email.

Except it told him he didn't have the password.

And so he spent the next five minutes hacking into the internet before he could send off his message.

_Hey Bee. I just got interviewed by three ugly suits for the past hour or so before ditching. Who the hell were they? And can you tell Optimus he owes me a talk? I want to be filled in on all this shit happening to me._

_Thanks,_

_Sam_

Almost immediately after he sent it, Bee had answered.

_Suits? Why would they interviewing you? Stay in your room, Optimus is sending Captain Lennox to pick you up soon._

_Bee_

Sam frowned. So it _hadn't_ been sanctioned by the Autobots?

_I've locked the door and stuck a chair under it. Hopefully anyone coming by will get the message. And I have no idea why they were interrogating me. They said it was a debriefing, but then the questions started getting… weird._

_See you soon_

When Bee didn't respond for five minutes, Sam sent another message.

_Bee? What's up?_

_Sam_

Two seconds later, he got:

_Will is on his way. ETA two minutes. Don't answer the door unless it's him._

_Bee_

Okay, that was a little… disconcerting.

Sam waited patiently for five minutes, and Will still didn't show up. Knowing that Bee, being far superior to any super computer a human could conceptualize, was incapable of making mistakes unless a new factor was involved didn't make him feel any better. Getting frustrated, he started tearing apart squares of toilet paper.

He'd made a good mess of the floor by the time a knock finally sounded on the door. When a moment later he heard a familiar voice yell at someone to 'back the fuck off', he grinned. Will was there. Kicking the chair out of the way, he unlocked and opened the door.

"Thank God you're here, for a second I thought-" He stared at the sight of the three suits on the floor unconscious. "What happened to them?"

Will looked furious. "What they had coming to them. Assholes have been here long enough to know the rules." He motioned Sam to follow him, and the young adult did so, closing the door behind him. One of the things he really liked about his new room was the fact that it had a hand scanner for a lock. No way for anyone to steal his shit!

He really wanted to see Bumblebee.

"So, what are the rules, exactly?"

Will glanced over him at him and grinned. "Well, there's a nicer way of saying it, but we usually just call it the 'Don't touch the Boss's shit' rule. They shouldn't have been asking questions without Optimus there."

Sam frowned. "But that doesn't apply to most people, right?"

Will shook his head. "Just people under Optimus's direct command or jurisdiction – which includes you, I just recently found out. Congrats, kid, you're one of the most valuable ambassadors on the planet."

Moss-green eyes widened. "Huh? Ambassador? Since when?" He wasn't technically supposed to know anything about that, after all. The little he'd gleamed in between the lines of shit on Computer's report had led him to assume he was something like a diplomat or an ambassador.

"Since Optimus had to put a label on you. He couldn't call you a pet, after all, and everyone on his team has a certain purpose or role to play. And you're the most valuable because while the Autobots have liaisons, you're the first to officially get the term 'ambassador'."

Sam frowned. "Don't you need training for that?"

"Probably." Will grinned at him. "Welcome to the club, kid. There is no school on the planet that teaches us how to team up and fight with giant alien robots, and yet here we are. Figuring new things out every day. For example: Did you know that putting the Twins anywhere near something explosive results in severe property destruction? If they ever ask you to help them experiment with fireworks, SAY NO."

Sam tried to imagine the Twins getting their hands on some of the jet fuel inevitably lying around on the air base and grimaced.

Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be a deep underground hangar, and Sam couldn't help but stare at the sight of so many Autobots transformed into their bipedal forms. It looked as if they were… talking.

A yellow Camaro screeched away from the group and came flying towards Sam at dangerous speeds. The human just grinned, though, happy to finally be reunited with his Camaro. The yellow bot skidded to a stop right in front of him, door already opened and welcoming him back. Sam hopped in without a word.

_~"Thank you, thank you very much"_~Elvis Presley said from Bee's speaker, eliciting a chuckle from Will.

"No problem. Tell Optimus he needs to get those three idiots fired, okay? They were trying to hack into Sam's door."

Sam, who hadn't known that, gasped in surprise at the combination of that information as well as Bumblebee's abrupt and angry revving of the engine. The Camaro bounced on his shocks once before speeding off to join the rest of his comrades. Sam leaned back in the leather chair and sighed happily, running his fingers over the steering wheel. "It's good to see you again, Bee," he said quietly, closing his eyes.

In response, a song started playing on the radio.

~ "Stay with me

Don't let me go

Cause I can't be without you

Just stay with me

And hold me close

Because I've built my world around you

And I don't wanna know what it's like without you

So stay with me

Just stay with me"~

Sam blinked at the uncharacteristically sappy song coming from the speakers. "Aw Bee, did you miss me that much?" He smiled, petting the leather. "I missed you too, buddy."

The engine purred before idling. When the door didn't open, Sam assumed that the discussion still wasn't going to involve him, so he leaned back in the chair and sighed happily when Bee automatically reclined it for him. Closing his eyes, he absently thanked Bee when the bot tinted the windows to decrease the amount of light being let into the cabin and increased the temperature so he was comfortable.

When the chair behind him started massaging his back after he tried to roll the knots out of his shoulders a few times, he chuckled. "Careful, Bee. You might spoil me."

The chorus for Mika's "Relax (Take It Easy)" started playing on the radio for a few moments before it was switched to some smooth jazz. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Sam did as instructed and just enjoyed the massage, groaning softly when a particularly hard knot was heated and massaged into submission.

Of course, he hadn't planned on falling asleep.

_-Toki Mirage-_

Song used in this chapter: "Stay with me" – Danity Kane

Note: Thanks to the people who told me about Optimus's face in the interview. I made a change and forgot to take out that sentence. So sorry for the confusion! :)


End file.
